Sliding valve well pump



March 27, 1962 R. F. cARTY SLIDING VALVE WELL PUMP Filed June ll, 1959 IN V EN TOR. fy f c/Mrr Hwy/Ww 3,026,312 SLIDW G VALVE WELL PUMP Roy F. Carty, 920 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. Filed .lune 11, 1959, Ser. No. 819,746 7 Claims. (Cl. 10S- 155) This invention relates to well pumps of the reciprocating plunger type for pumping fluid upwardly through the casing of a deep well.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a reciprocating plunger pump designed to operate without the use of ball type check valves.

Another object of the invention is to provide a well pump equipped with a valve tube movable to open and close intake and delivery ports at opposite ends of a pump chamber in response to movement of a plunger along its intake and delivery strokes within the chamber.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved valve mechanism for deep well pumps insuring a positive opening and closing of the ports, and adapted to minimize wear and leakage.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improved pump construction which is simple and economical to manufacture, strong, durable, highly efficient in operation, and most servicable in use.

The invention has other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be hereinafter explained in connection with the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings forming part of the present specilication. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the structural features shown in the drawings, as the invention may be embodied in other forms, and the structural details may be variously modified, within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this speciiication and wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout the same,

FIG. 1 is a vertical midsectional view of a pump embodying the invention,

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken upon the line 2-2 of FIG. l,

FlG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken upon the line 3--3 of FIG. 1, and p FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional View taken upon the line l-l of FIG. l.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral `6 designates the outer wall of a cylindrical chamber of a size adapted to be lowered into a well casing 7. Preferably the cylinder wall 6 is provided with a suitable casing seal 8 secured to the outer surface of the cylinder and having a rubber gasket 9, or other suitable sealing means arranged to eiiect sealing engagement with the casing 7, in conventional manner. The bottom of the chamber is closed as at 11, and is provided with a threaded shank 12 arranged to be screwed onto a conventional hold-down 'fitting 13.

An inner cylindrical chamber is mounted within the chamber wall 6, with its cylindrical wall 1d concentrically positioned in spaced relation to the surrounding wall 6 of the outer chamber. The bottom of the inner chamber seats upon the bottom of the outer chamber. A collar 16 spaces the lower ends of the chambers; and the assembly is held in place by rivets 17.

A valve tube 18 is mounted for sliding movement within the annular space between the cylindrical walls d and 14 of the chambers. At its upper end, the valve tube 18 is oi' reduced diameter forming a neck 20. Preferably the neck 20 is slit or otherwise arranged to yieldably engage the outer surface of a tubular plunger 19. A wrap around spring 25 is applied over the reduced and slit neck portion of the plunger to hold the neck portion I aaaasiz Patented Mar. 27, 1962 in close sliding engagement with the plunger. A suitable rubber sealing ring 30 is seated upon the shoulder 21 formed by the reduced portion 18.

The inner cylindrical chamber wall 14 extends above the upper end of the outer chamber wall 6, and is provided with delivery ports 22 positioned slightly above the upper edge of the outer chamber wall. The chamber wall 14 is also provided with intake ports 23, spaced a short distance above the bottom of the chamber and arranged to register with elongated slot-like intake ports 24 formed in the outer chamber wall 6.

The valve tube 18 is provided with delivery ports 26 formed near the upper end thereof and arranged to be moved into and out of register with the delivery ports 22. Near the lower end, the valve tube 18 is provided with intake ports 27 registering with the intake ports 24 of the outer chamber wall, said ports 27 being arranged to be moved into and out of registering relation with the ports 23 of the inner chamber wall. Stop pins 28 secured to the inner and outer chamber walls extend through slots 29 formed in the valve tube 18 near its lower end to limit the sliding movement of the valve tube up and down between the walls of the inner and outer chambers 14 and 6.

The plunger 19 is of suiiicient length to reach to about the level of the intake ports 23, when it reaches the end of its inward or delivery stroke. A bolt 31 is screwed through the bottom of the chambers and into the shank 12. It will be noted that the bolt 31 extends axially upwardly through a guide opening in the bottom of the plunger 19 to a point near the upper end of the inner chamber wall 14. The head 32 of the bolt 31 defines the upper limit of movement of the plunger; and provides means by which the pump assembly may be lifted bodily from the well when the pump is released from the holddown iitting 13.

The plunger 19 is attached to the lower end of the pump rod 33 that extends to the top of the well, in conventional manner, As the plunger is moved downwardly into the pump chamber through the reduced neck portion 2t) of the valve tube 1S, said tube is moved downwardly between the inner and outer cylindrical chamber walls 6 and 14 until the upper ends of the slots 29 seat upon the stop pins 23, as shown in FIG. l of the drawing. In this position of the Valve tube 18 the delivery ports 26 register with the delivery ports 22 of the inner chamber wall 14, and the intake ports 27 are positioned below the intake ports 23, so that the said ports are closed by the valve tube. As the plunger 19 is moved outwardly from the position shown in FIG. l, its lirst movement will cause the valve tube 1S to be raised to the limit permitted by the slots 29 and stop pins 28, thereby causing the intake ports 27 to register with the ports 23, and at the same time closing the delivery ports 22 as the ports 26 are moved out of registery therewith.

In operation, as the plunger 19 is moved upwardly from its innermost position shown on FIG. l, the intake port 23 is opened, and oil, water or other liquid is drawn by suction from the casing 7 below the seal 8 into the pump chamber. At the start ol' the ensuing inward stroke, the valve tube is shifted to close the intake port 23 and open the delivery port 22. Further inward movement of the plunger forces liquid from the chamber into the casing 7 above the seal 8. As reciprocation of the plunger is continued, liquid is alternately drawn into the chamber from below the seal 8 and displaced into the casing above the seal, the valve tube being shifted to alternately open and close the intake and delivery ports by the frictional gripping engagement of the neck 20 with the plunger. The sealing ring 30, plus the added grip exerted by the spring 25, prevents any material leakage past the plunger. Also, the lit between the valve appeals tube and the inner and outer chamber walls 14 and 6 is sufficiently close to prevent material leakage therepast. Air trapped in the top of the plunger 19 is compressed by the operation of the plunger to give added force to displace liquid from the chamber.

The alternate opening and closing of the intake and delivery ports by movement of the valve tube makes unnecessary the use of ball-type check valves required in well pumps of ordinary design heretofore commonly used, thereby obviating the expense, maintenance, and ineiciency incident to their normal use in deep-well pump operation.

lf desired, detents 33 may be formed within the neck portions 20 of the valve tube 18 to engage grooves S4 formed in the outer surface of the plunger 19 near its ends. The detents 33 positively engage the grooves 34 at the start of the movement of the plunger 19, thereby insuring movement of the valve tube to and from its inlet closing position.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A deep well pump comprising a pump chamber having spaced concentric inner and outer side walls provided with intake and delivery ports positioned near the lower4 and upper ends of the chamber respectively, a pump rod. connected to the chamber, said rod extending into the chamber and being arranged to lower the chamber intol a well casing from the top of a well, a plunger connected to the pump rod and arranged to be reciprocated thereby within the chamber, a valve tube slidably mounted for reciprocating movement with the space between the con-- centric side walls of the pump chamber and provided with valve ports formed near the upper and lower ends thereof, said valve ports being positioned to register alternately With intake and delivery ports formed in the lower and upper portions of the chamber walls respectively as the valve tube is reciprocated, and means connecting the valve tube to the plunger for actuating the tube to alternately open and close the intake and delivery ports as the plunger is reciprocated within the chamber.

2. A deep well pump as dened by claim 1 provided with a seal meunted upon the outer surface of the chamber and arranged to effect sealing engagement with the Lcasing at a level between the intake and delivery ports.

3.. A deep well pump as dened by claim 1, having hold-down means connected to the lower end of the chamber and provided with sealing means secured to the outer face of the chamber and arranged to etect ealing engagement with the casing at a level between the intake and the delivery ports.

4. A deep weil pump as detined by claim l wherein the means connectingV the valve tube to the plunger comprises a reduced and longitudinally slit neck formed upon 11. the valve tube and arranged to yieldably engage the plunger and provided with spring means for holding the neck in slidable gripping engagement therewith.

5. A deep well pump as defined by claim 1, wherein a 'bolt is secured to the bottom of the chamber and posi- 'tioned axially therein, said bolt extending upwardly into 'the plunger through an opening in the bottom thereof :and being provided with a head arranged to be engaged iby the bottom of the plunger at the end of its upward movement within the chamber.

6. A deep well pump comprising a cylindrical pump chamber arranged to be lowered into a well casing and provided with spaced concentric inner walls, said walls having intake ports positioned in registering relation near their lower ends and the inner wall extending above the outer wall and having a delivery port positioned above the top of the outer wall, a valve tube mounted for reciprocating movement axially of the chamber between the concentric walls thereof, means limiting the move- :ment of the tube relative to the chamber walls, said tube "having an inlet port positioned to register with the inlet ports of the chamber walls when the tube is in its innermost position, and having a delivery port positioned to register with the delivery port of the inner wall when the tube is at its outermost position, a plunger mounted for reciprocating movement within the chamber, a power operated reciprocating pump rod connected to the plunger and arranged to extend to the top of the well, means connecting the plunger to the valve tube arranged to impart limited reciprocating movement to said tube to alternately open and close the intake and delivery ports in time with the reciprocations of the plunger, and sealing means, upon the outer chamber wall arranged to effect sealing engagement with the well casing at a level between the intake and delivery ports.

7. A deep well pump as defined by claim 6, wherein the valve tube has a reduced and longitudinally slit neck portion slidably engaging the plunger and is provided with spring means for yieldably holding the neck in gripping engagement with the plunger for imparting movement to the tube during initial portions of intake and delivery strokes thereof, and permitting sliding movement of the plunger past the tube during the remainder of said strokes.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,253,003 Colson Jan. 8, 1918 1,578,924 Schroeder Mar. 30, 1926 1,742,579 Childers Jan. 7, 1930 2,141,957 McDaniel Dec. 27, 1938 

